There is excitement building for the upcoming Catholic Schools Week! It begins on Sunday, January 28th. This is a week to celebrate Catholic education and all that makes SJS great! To help celebrate and make the week special there will be several unique events occurring. Attached to this week’s Virtual Backpack is a schedule, and parents are always welcome. One of the highlights is our “special friends” mass. Students are welcome to invite a special friend to attend mass with them, and then check out our school. Just like last year, the special friend masses will be divided up by class levels. Kindergarten through fourth grade will have their special friends mass on Tuesday, January 30th . The fifth through eighth grades will have their special friends mass on Wednesday, January 31st . This arrangement will help us to preserve class time and lose only one day of instruction, and still allow our guests to visit the school.

Parent participation is vital to the success of SJS. Being involved helps you: get to know other families and parents, it helps to keep down school costs and tuition, and it also is a great selling point for our school. As I speak to new families I can tell them that our parents are so committed to SJS that our families volunteer over 9,000 hours a year. Fish fry dinners and coaching are great ways to get involved. Thanks to the over 90 families who have already finished and submitted their hours. We would like all hours to be submitted by May 15th.

Jesus told us to go forth and make disciples. In my opinion, the best way to do that is through Catholic Schools. So we need your help in spreading the word about SJS. Attached to the vbp is a flyer that can help you talk about some of the strengths of SJS when you visit with your friends and neighbors. We also have posters that can easily be displayed at an office/business bulletin board. If you have space just let us know. We also have plans for more yard signs. Schools simply work best with new students, and parents are our best recruiters as you can speak directly to the benefits of a SJS education. And, we are having our Kindergarten and Preschool Roundup on February 22nd with sessions at 9:00 and 1:00. Please do your part to spread the word and help SJS prosper.

Thank you to all the parents who were able to attend our guest speaker last night from RESPECT. Thanks also to our Home and School who sponsored the event making it free for all. Our Home and School wants to be a resource in helping parents gain new insight and skills. I know we all appreciate their efforts.

We emailed you earlier this week an exciting development in the legislature, LB295. All Catholic schools are being asked to spread the word and ask their parents to get involved. Thank you for your help. If you have any questions feel free to contact the school office. Thanks for all you do.